Quake Rocks Region

"We felt the truck shake and the roads cracking," Roberto wrote to NBCSanDiego. "We stopped and looked at the big hills, and the force of the quake shook the mountains and dust started to come up."

The mountainous area is made up of "huge rock formations that provide incredible natural landscapes, views and a unique sound of wind," which the 4,000-foot peak is named for, according to a tourist Web site about the Tecate area.

Images: Quake Damage in the U.S.

The quake tore the road apart the men were traveling on and destroyed or did damage to dozens of homes and businesses in nearby Mexicali, a bustling commercial center along Mexico's border with California where the quake hit hardest, said Baja California state Gov. Jose Guadalupe Osuna.

Most of the destruction was in small farming communities on the outskirts of the city.

A 94-year-old man was killed when a wall collapsed in his home in the city, and a transient died when the abandoned home he was living in collapsed in a farming community, Osuna said.

Civil protection authorities said Sunday that another man died when he ran into the street in panic and was struck by a car, but the government did not count him among the earthquake victims Monday.